Stmultiple clerosis and sport. To date, few have believed in this alliance. A few weeks ago the Congress of the European Network Rehabilitation in Multiple Sclerosis (RIMS) But for the past 7 years for Maria Luisa Garatti, a 54-year-old lawyer from Brescia who has lived with the disease for 17 years, multiple sclerosis and sport have become one. And tomorrow June 14 will be in Barcelona at the Women’s Race.
Multiple sclerosis and sport: the experts approve
Garatti has run 14 marathons since 2016.
«Continuing, resuming or starting a physical or sporting activity suited to your needs and to be carried out at the di outside a purely clinical context, allows you to maintain interpersonal relationships, positively affecting the psychosocial sphere of people with multiple sclerosis. AND has proved to be a real therapy to complement traditional medicines, to counteract the progression of the disease. It is written in the Congress communiqué….
“Finally!” he begins Maria Laura Garatti, specialized in private law and sports law. “When I was diagnosed with the disease I was 37 years old, I was in the prime of my youth and saw all the roads of life open before me. That diagnosis was a tremendous blow that pulled me away from the world and threw me on a sofa.
What is Multiple Sclerosis?
«Multiple sclerosis is a degenerative disease that affects the central nervous system. It is caused by abnormal reaction of the immune system which go to attack some components of the system, mistaking them for external agents to be neutralized. The inflammation that arises it can damage either the myelin, the sheath that insulates the nerve fibers, or the nerve fibers themselves or the cells specialized in the production of myelin. In particular, it can affect the optic nerve, the cerebellum and the spinal cord» explains Garatti.
«I have arrived at the diagnosis because I suffered from constant paresthesias in my hands. I was going through the motions but lacked the sensitivity. For example, I couldn’t put the buttons in the buttonhole »he says. «Among the side effects of multiple sclerosis is the fact of generating chronic fatigue, what we have all come to know as fatigue from Covid. In these conditions it is difficult to face the day».
When did his life turn?
“Since the diagnosis I went through hell, panic attacks, depression. I thought my life was over. In 2014 a friend convinced me to rely on a trainer that got me back on my feet. And then she asked me to run. I repeat, “free” sport was not recommended at the time». underlines the sports law lawyer.
“You were born to run!”
Maria Luisa Garatti is part of If You Want You Can
“‘But you were born to run!’ was the verdict of my “coach”. THEo I had never played sports before I got sick...” continues Maria Luisa Garatti. «Now if I don’t go running at least 3.4 times a week I’m not happy. Multiple sclerosis brings with it crazy chronic fatigue.but I tried that on myself the tiredness caused by physical, athletic effort, “good” fatigue is able to counteract that of the disease. This is why multiple sclerosis and sport can, indeed must, go together».
The commitment to inclusive sport
«I have a busy sports schedule. I am part of Asics Front Runner community. And from 2016 onwards I ran 14 marathonsAnd. My goal is not to look at the times is to bring multiple sclerosis to the finish line» explains Maria Luisa Garatti. With «For this on June 14th I will be at the Women’s Race in Barcelona, iOn November 17th I will race in Austria, then I will go to Sofia. Meanwhile, in October I will run the New York marathon. He will be the guide of a blind friend» says Garatti.
The meeting with Gabriele Rosa
«In 2016, after running the Brescia marathon, my city, I met Gabriele Rosa, a cardiologist and sports coach who, as part of his sports consultancy projects, also follows projects dedicated to people with various frailties. At the 2016 NYC Marathon I took seven kids with Multiple Sclerosis to run with me Subsequently with Gabriele Rosa we gave life to the project that establishes the encounter between multiple sclerosis and sport: If you can you want. The Association was created to involve people with multiple sclerosis in sports. And participate in sports competitions by raising funds for Asm and also for other events. A project that enjoys the supervision of specialized personnel and offers controlled exercise, with the aim of achieving a clear improvement in terms of movement, resistance and coordination» explains the volcanic Maria Luisa Garatti who wrote together with Rubens Noviello His Majesty. Running beyond multiple sclerosis (Marco Serra Tarantola editor).
The talent of Maria Luisa Garatti
the book by Maria Luisa Garatti on her experience.
«I’m good at involving people. And I always think that if in 2006 the positive synergy between multiple sclerosis and sport had been ascertained, I would have been spared some of my hell. This is why I joined the Aaiacs Sport and Disability Committee as a member, and the Avvocate dello Sport board» Maria Luisa Garatti summarizes and concludes. The lawyer since May is also involved in #100 sports experts who, within the 100 women against stereotypes project, give voice and visibility to women’s sports expertise.
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